Leaders in Denmark and Greenland have been communicating with President-elect Trump, expressing an openness to allow an increased U.S. military presence on the world’s largest island, according to a Saturday report from Axios.
Danish leaders reportedly expressed to Trump’s team that Greenland is not for sale but they are willing to discuss a host of other possibilities, Axios reported.
Denmark’s government is keen on avoiding a public showdown with Trump and sought clarification from him about his plans for Greenland, the outlet also reported.
Trump has renewed previous interest in the massive island, over which Denmark maintains security control, in recent weeks.
An aerial photo taken on August 15, 2019 shows icebergs as they float along the eastern cost of Greenland near Kulusuk (aslo spelled Qulusuk). JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” Trump wrote in a December post on Truth Social while announcing his selection of PayPal co-founder Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark.
Greenland’s prime minister Mute Egede said he’s ready to speak with Trump during a Friday joint press conference with Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen. The pro-independence Egede also, however, expressed that Greenland doesn’t want to be Danish or American.
“We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house … This is something everyone should respect,” Egede said Friday. “Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic.”
Some of Greenland’s citizens expressed intrigue and even excitement at the specter of joining the American fold. (RELATED: ‘Amazing Idea’: Scott Jennings Says Buying Greenland Would Be ‘A Great Legacy Piece’ For Donald Trump)
“See you soon Donald,” one resident, sporting a red Make America Great Again hat, told a cameraman associated with a delegation led by Trump’s eldest son Don Jr.
Donald Trump Jr. has arrived in Greenland. 👀 pic.twitter.com/q0ElwYRwfi
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 7, 2025
Trump’s renewed calls are an echo of his 2019 attempts to purchase the island from Denmark, which he ultimately abandoned in his first term after Prime Minister Frederikson shot him down.
Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
His latest salvo for the resource-rich island involved national security concerns. “We need Greenland for national security reasons,” he said during a Tuesday press conference at Mar-A-Lago.
When asked in the same press conference if he could rule out using military or economic coercion in Greenland he said “I can’t assure you of either of those two.”
He also referenced global security in the presser, citing the growing influence of Russia and China in the region and the need to combat it.
“You don’t even need binoculars, you look outside you have China ships all over the place, you have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen, we’re not letting it happen.” he said.
This aerial photograph taken on August 15, 2023, shows the sailing ship ‘Kamak’ of Greenlandia expedition, navigating a way between icebergs released by the glaciers around Milne Land due to warm temperatures in the Scoresby Sound Fjord, in Eastern Greenland. The French National Centre for Scientific Research is undertaking an expedition to explore Greenland’s isolated fjords, the planet’s largest fjord system, which remains vastly understudied. The expedition, arranged by the volunteer-run French initiative Greenlandia, is dedicated to understanding the climate change’s effects on Scoresby Fjord and its inhabitants. OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images
He threatened Denmark with tariffs if they tried to impede a potential Greenland decision to join the U.S.
Greenland voted to move towards independence in a 2008 referendum and with the 2009 Self-Government Act.
An increased U.S. military presence would add to the already American manned Pittufik U.S. Space Base. The base includes a radar station which is part of the U.S. ballistic missile early warning system, according to the Department of Defense.
The Daily Caller contacted members of Trump’s team for confirmation but did not hear back by publication.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
